Diamonds Are Forever - Brooke St. James Page 0,21

and I can take it from here," I said. "We'll just be a few minutes."

His smile faded. "Am I not invited?" he asked.

"No, yeah," I winked. "But I think Blake can help me with the rock if you want to get back to your dad."

Blake was walking beside me contentedly, and I stooped and took the sucker out of his pocket. I unwrapped it and handed it to him.

"Well, if it'll only take a minute, then I'll stay," Drew said.

It took us five minutes to "find my rock" and in the meantime, I told Blake about the turtle and the bear. I made it up on the spot, and it wasn't my best work, but it was zany enough for a two-year-old to enjoy. The story ended with a race where the turtle held onto tires and the bear rode on the turtle's back like a skateboard. I did silly voices, and Blake was cracking up by the time we found my rock.

Blake was exponentially more reasonable once he was in a good mood. I told him this night was a big deal for his grandfather and that we needed to get out there with the adults for just a little while.

I told him if he let one of those teachers read him a story, it would be over in no time. I let him hang on to my special rock until his parents got back, and I gave him a second sucker for being so helpful, but we put this one in his diaper bag and we said he'd save it for later.

He was fine when we left. He was holding the rock and sitting down for a book. The whole ordeal took about ten minutes.

Drew and I made eye contact when we left the children's area. I stopped walking, hesitating in the hall.

"Aren't you coming back?" he asked, gesturing toward the party.

I shrugged. "Don't you think you made your point? I think everybody got the idea that you're with someone else."

"So, you're leaving? You're going home?"

"My mom's friend actually lives pretty close to here. That's where Mac is. I could just walk over there. It'll only take me a few minutes, and she can take me to my car."

"I'll take you to your car if you need to leave now," he said.

"No, no, I've already taken you away from the party long enough. You should go back in. I'm fine walking over there, actually."

"In a skirt? Just stay a little longer," he said, reaching out, touching my arm. "Come back in there with me. Seriously, it's helping me out a lot. She's gonna be all over me if you leave."

I glanced in the direction of the party. I could hear the music faintly.

"I could stay another half-hour," I said.

Drew smiled and took a hold of me, lacing my hand through his arm and forcing me to hold onto his arm as we walked. I didn't resist. He was a smart, rich, handsome Senator's son, and his arm had muscles and was fun to hold onto. How many times in life would I get to live this kind of fairy tale situation?

He leaned in to speak to me as we walked to the covered cabana area where the party was set up. He joked about me being Lady Lollipop from the dock, and how fitting it was that I actually carried lollipops around with me. We were smiling about it as we entered the party area. People looked at us. I could feel them staring. But I just talked to Drew, feeling calm and happy.

I decided that fake dates were the best kind of dates. There was no pressure. I could just be myself and not worry about impressing him. I didn't even really feel like I needed to impress his family or friends. This was the best possible date. I was myself, and at the same time, I was being someone else.

"What are you thinking," Drew asked smiling at me as we approached our table.

"Just about this."

"What are you thinking about it?"

"I don't know. I'm just glad I came here. It's a cool experience."

"Good. I'm glad you didn't leave."

He glanced around, evaluating our surroundings before we sat down. "Would you like to dance?" he asked.

And since going with the flow seemed to be working for me tonight, I said, "Sure."

Chapter 8

Drew readjusted his grip on me, taking my hand instead of my arm. I tried not to notice the sensations I got from holding his hand. He gently